Valentine X blends horror and romance

Stray away from the ordinary Valentine’s Day celebrations and treat your date to an evening of fright that will make hearts race and legs tremble.

But don’t stray too far, for the Bear Butcher preys on straggling couples for revenge not romance.

The 13th Floor Haunted House downtown offers an evening with a horrendous experience unlike any other at Valentine X, a Candlelit Night of Horror, Feb. 14 and 15.

Kaitlyn Jaffke, marketing coordinator for 13th Floor Haunted House, said the Valentine’s Day haunted house takes guests through a terrifying 35-minute tour of the torturous massacres conceived by the Bear Butcher, a vengeful blade-carrying, serial-killer bear, who preys on couples for bloody vengeance.

The Bear Butcher looks like a fuzzy, sinister version of a stuffed teddy bear that has been stitched up after being mutilated with a pair of jagged scissors.

Jaffke said the story-driven haunted house was created for guests to become immersed in the idea of the Bear Butcher.

Jaffke said she doesn’t want to reveal too much of the story plot, but guests are in for a thrilling surprise.

“You don’t always know what you’re going to get. Guests will walk into the world of the Bear Butcher,” Jaffke said. “He seeks lustful revenge on his victims’ souls.”

This is the first year 13th Floor has introduced Valentine X to San Antonio, but the company has previously conducted the event in Denver and Phoenix.

In mid-November, 13th Floor tested holiday boundaries when they held Pitch Black, a blacked-out terror house tour where groups were given one glow stick and had to find their own way out.

In December, they introduced a Christmas-themed version of the Pitch Black horror house where Santa Claus was transformed into a sinister version named Santa Claws. Groups were given one candy-cane shaped glow stick to find their way out.

Jaffke said the decision to create events such as Pitch Black and Valentine X came from the idea that horror can be mixed into any time of the year.

“Horror and romance just go so well together,” Jaffke said. “We feel Halloween should not just be once a year.”

Jaffke said although the terror house is a candlelit Valentine’s Day-themed event, guests should not expect to have dinner.

“No dinner unless customers want to become dinner,” Jaffke said.

Valentine X will be open 7:30 p.m.-10:30 p.m. Feb. 14 and 15 at 1203 E. Commerce St.

General admission is $26.89, and VIP fast passes that allow guests to avoid the wait are $34.46.

For more information and tickets, visit www.13thfloorsanantonio.com/ValentineX.